Canon ships 100 millionth compact camera

There's no details on what it will look like or the technology it will pack in, but Canon has promised a "colour variation model" to mark the fact that it has sold 100 million digital compact cameras.

So whilst we're waiting - here's a brief history of Canon's collection of compacts.

Beginning with the PowerShot 600 in 1996, Canon has produced a total of 106 models (including regional models) up to 5 August 2008.

There was the IXUS Digital in 2000, which Canon claims "spearheaded the digital point-and-shoot revolution".

2003 saw the launch of the PowerShot A70, which was the best-selling model worldwide that year.

The Digital IXUS i in 2003 apparently "paved the way for female-orientated digital cameras" - whatever that means while, four years later, you had a 10 megapixel compact model in the PowerShot G7 and then a camera packing in a 2x zoom in the PowerShot S5 IS.